Pressure seal



May 6, 1952 v. L RoGALLo 2,596,045

' PRESSURE SEAL Filed oct. 19,'1946 Hlm-I PRESSURE camsumsm Low PRESSURE HIGH l PRESSURE LOW PRESSURE Patented May 6, 1952 PRESSURE SEAL Vernon L. Rogallo, Culver City, Calif., assigner to Northrop Aircraft, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif., a corporation oi' California Application October 19, 1946, Serial No. 704,430

4 Claims. 1

My invention relates to pressure closures and more particularly to pressure closures or doors ideally suitable for use in the construction of pressurized airplane cabins, for example.

Many modern airplanes are designed to operate at relatively high altitudes, such as 20,000 to 30,000 feet. For the comfort and safety of the carried personnel, both crew and passengers, the cabins of such airplanes are sealed and pressurizer while in flight to simulate air pressure conditions at lower altitudes. In consequence, the doors and hatches of such cabins must be provided with effective seals to prevent any substantial pressure leakage while in flight. At the same time, such doors and hatches must be readily openable in emergencies and must. as far as possible, maintain their seal under mismating conditions such as might be encountered while undergoing stresses or shock, for example, in military airplanes. Furthermore, the seal must be maintained under extreme temperature ranges and conditions as would be encountered at high altitudes.

-Heretofora the problem of maintaining a satisfactory seal under mismating conditions of door and frame has beenpartially solved by making doors and hatches open inwardly so that the cabin pressure forces the door against the frame. By the use of a flexible gasket a seal can then be obtained under slight mismating conditions, if the gasket remains flexible.

However, inwardly opening doors have many disadvantages. The cabin pressure tends to keep the door closed and both force and time are required to open the door against the inner pressure. In emergency openings the door is inside and may thus hamper exit of personnel. It is thus highly desirable that at least all emergency doors open outwardly so that the cabin pressure will aid in opening the doors, rather than hinder it.

Both under normal and mismating conditions, the sealing problem -is much greater with outwardly opening doors than with those opening inwardly, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a pressure closure that will open outwardly, if desired, but which will at the same time maintain a pressure seal even under mismating conditions.

However, even with inwardly opening doors, a pressure seal is diflicult to maintain at low temperatures when flexible gaskets are used, because most gasket materials freeze and lose their flexibility at temperatures of minus 60 F., for example. Even a slight mismatins under these circumstances will cause leakage, and it is another object of my invention to provide a pressure seal that will operate to maintain a seal, even though no flexible gasket is present.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood by reference to the appended drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a pressure seal jdint embodying one preferred form of the present invention under normal mating conditions.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the joint of Figure 1 under severe mismating conditio'ns illustrating seal maintenance.

The invention is illustrated as applied to an emergency crew escape hatch in a high speed military bomber designed to operate up to 30,000

feet altitude with a cabin pressure equivalent to that at from sea level to 10,000 feet. Under these conditions the closure or hatch I as shown in Figure 1 is of metal, having an edge overlap portion 2 carrying a cushion gasket 3 preferably hollow and of rubber or similar elasticcomposition. Opposed to gasket 3 is a jamb member 4, in this case formed by an angle member 5 riveted to the airplane frame 6. This hatch will open outwardly, and using the gasket alone a pressure seal can only be maintained under substantially perfect mating conditions, as when the gasket 3 is under substantially uniform compression all around the closure.

As uniform compression of gasket 3 is diflicult to obtain even when the parts are new, and impossible toobtan when either closure l or frame 6 is warped, even slightly, or if the gasket 3 is hard and frozen, it is not suiiicient to rely on gasket sealing alone. This is particularly true with outwardly opening doors, where high diiferential pressures may cause the door to move outwardly. It should be noted in this regard that both high differential pressures and low temperatures are usually encountered at high altitudes. In consequence, I have provided a seal construction that will maintain a seal even after gasket 3 has hardened and/or moved a substantial distance away from jamb 4, as shown in Figure 2.

A flap l0 of thin fabric, such as cotton, coated on both sides with a vinyl resin, is attached to frame 6 at the base of angle member 5 to lie flat against jamb 4 between jamb 4 and gasket 3. Such a flap has been found to remain flexible at minus F. The attachment line of the flap In to frame 6 is sealed by a fillet Ii of plastic material and gasket 3 is likewise sealed with a Plastic niiet I2 along the inner odge oi' the gasket where it contacts closure l. Jamb 4 is perforated with holes i4 to permit pressure to contact the back of flap I9. Ridges or channels in the face of jamb t facing the flap I and opening into the pressure chamber are deemed full equivalents to holes I4.

As shown in Figure 2, when the closure and frame are `mismated for any reason Whatever while thecabin is pressurized, the closure edge may, at some points at least, move away from frame 6 sufficiently to move gasket 3 away from jarnb 4.- This is particularly apt to happen if the gasket has lost its resiliency due to freezing.

Flap I0 in this case is forced, by the chamber pressure, firmly against the inner-face of gasket 3, thus maintaining the seal. This seal will not be broken until the parts are separated sufn= ciently so that flap lil can no longer lie flat'on the inner surface of gasket 3 with sufficient grip to maintain a proper seal. As nap Hl is flexible, relative.` motion of closure and frame can also take place within rwide limits without 'loss of pressure.

' The compositions of gasket 3 and flap i9 are notcriticaL- although the sealing surfaces should not, be deliberatelyf'made slippery `or polished. Contact ofirubber and similar materials, even when; hardened,y with .the flap provides Va preferred coefcientoffriction to maintain a seal to1foll1ow .thefgasket on outward movement thereofyevenatminus 65 F.

- Seals ofthel type described have-beenrigorously tested under low temperature conditions. Aha tch,jmade as described has been removed andreplaced many times at temperatures as low as/minus :65 F., with pressurization taking 1place immediately after replacement. (No flexibility of,v gasket Iii could be detected at this temperature, yet, the -sealA did not leak. Thus, itpis apparent that the` seal ldoes not depend onjthe flexibility of the gasket, and thatgif kdesiredv-gasketyl can originally be of hard vma-` terialwith theV entire seal predicated onthe ilap,contactat all times. Thus, the ap contactsurface lcan be fmetaLif-desired. Y

It is to be noted that while I have -described my invention as applied; to `doors or hatches `of pressurized airplane cabins, the seal of ithe present invention Yis applicable to any` joint between high and low pressure volumes where relativegmovement may take vplace betweenV the joint-members.

Itis falso Atol be understood Y.that ythe reciprocal to the .arrangement of Vgasket andgiiap shown herein is fully equivalent.

vli claim:

1.- A pressure seal for closures fora pressurized chamber comprising cooperating, parallel and normally closely adjacent surfaces;-one of said surfaces being-onsaidclosure, the other of said surfacesbeingon said chamber, said surfaces -being...subject to separation substantially at right 4 angles to their extent to cause a leakage path between said surfaces from the high pressure side to the low pressure side of said closure, and a thin, flexible, and airtight flap positioned between said surfaces and normally in contact with both of said surfaces over a substantial area of each,

said ap being attached to one of said surfaces only ata low pressure edgeof said lattersurface to extend freely along said latter surface, whereby when said separation occurs said flap is flexed and held by air pressure alone against the original contact area of the Vother surface to bridge and seal said leakage path.

2. A'pressure seal for a closure for a pressurized fchamber'comprising means forming a first nap contacting surface attached to said chamber. e. gasket of' resilient material attached to said closure and having a second flap contacting surface thereon opposed and parallel to said first ap contacting surface when said closure is closed.

said closure whilebe'ing opened separating said fiap Vcontacting Vsurfaces vsubstantiallyJfat right angles l to: their extents, and a thin',f1`exible Land airtight flap attached to. andJsealedkto-said c'hamf ber-only lat the'low :pressure -edge of.A said :fxrstiiap contacting Isurfacegand extendingfreelyand outwardly between said flap contacting surfaces, said closure being *normally-.positioned Vwhen-closed to. force `saidnap againstthe extentwfibothcf said flap contacting,surfacessbyivntue:ofgthe resiliency of said gasket, :whereby when; separations offs-aid:

sages conducting pressure directly tothe zhigh,

pressure side only'of saidflap betweenftheiattachmentzand the .free endthereof.; Y Y

' f VVERNON AName, A Date,` 1,712,472 Campbell Y ,V `May- Il, -1929 2,146,259 .Gretener Feb-.7, 1939. 2,361,298 Laddon 1 -OctsV 24,-,1944 2,443,751 Terepinetal.. Jfune 2-2, .1948- L. accanito.

"Pevney June .29, 11348l 

